“They said no? Who in their right minds would say no to having their destroyed town rebuilt in time for Christmas for a network special?”

“I know,” Lauren replied.

But Cat was on a righteous roll. “They don’t have to wait for FEMA money, and we can guaran-damn-tee that their Christmas Festival will happen and be bigger than ever. That’s even more revenue for the town.” Cat’s voice echoed around the white walls of the hair and makeup room.

“I know. I know. Preaching to the choir, my friend,” Lauren said.

“I shouldn’t have gone straight to the network with this one. But who knew the town was run by a dumbass?” she lamented without moving her lips as Archie slathered gloss over them.

“Well, you see, Cat. I think it’s a dumbass with a grudge. Apparently when you were in Merry for that episode of Kings of Construction, you ruffled some feathers.”

“What exactly does that mean?” Cat demanded, drumming her freshly painted nails on the arm of the makeup chair.

“The city manager felt that the show turned his town into a circus.”

Cat snorted. “We renovated the home of one of the town’s most beloved families after they were hit by a drunk driver and nearly lost their home. That same house has two feet of standing water in it! I’m not going to just stand by and do nothing!”

“You sound mad.”

“We saw the town. We were there. Half of Merry, Connecticut, was underwater two days ago,” Cat argued.

“I know. I know. I was right there.”

“Why in the hell would some city suit decide they don’t need this?”

“Well, among a few other comments, the city manager’s main refrain was he didn’t want some network profiting off the trauma of his neighbors.”

“As if I would let that happen!”

Archie poked Cat in the forehead with a makeup brush. “Stop it with the expressions until I get this shit on your face.”

Cat stuck her tongue out at him but continued more calmly. “I want his phone number,” she told Lauren.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, the guy still seems pissed about you and that bar fight when you were in town.”

“Bar fight?” Cat’s voice hit a high note that had Archie bobbling his makeup palette. “He’s going to hold that against me? Obviously, he’s never seen a bar fight before, or he doesn’t believe a woman has the right to defend herself. Either way, I’m going to have to educate him.”

“I don’t know, Cat. He seems to think you’re basically an antichrist TV star who wants to swoop in and exploit his town’s disaster for ratings.”

“I hope you’re paraphrasing.”

Lauren laughed nervously. “To be fair, I think the guy is stressed to the breaking point. I mean, you saw how bad the damage was.”